The City Wellbeing Index: How happy are the world's leading cities?

The Wealth Report Attitudes Survey shows that 80% of UHNWIs are dedicating more of their time and money to their own wellbeing. But the concept of wellbeing, or wellness, is far wider than individual health and happiness.

There is a growing focus on wellness as a measure of national performance: something that has in the past been assessed in purely economic terms, generally measured in the form of GDP. However, there is no universally accepted method of measuring wellbeing, nor how it pertains to wealth creation. We therefore decided to develop our own index using eight measures to identify those urban centres that are enabling citizens to achieve a higher level of wellbeing.

All such attempts are subjective, especially when it comes to the choice of measures used, but we have chosen a range of factors that our research shows contribute to UHNWI decisions about where to invest or purchase a home.

For example, the results of previous Attitudes Surveys have told us that personal security, lifestyle and healthcare are important factors. We have therefore included crime, work-life balance and access to green space alongside a range of other indicators. 

We have analysed 40 global cities and our results show that European cities dominate. Norway’s capital Oslo takes the top spot, followed by Zurich and Helsinki tied in second place, and Vienna in fourth – not surprising, given the ten years it has spent at the top of the Mercer Quality of Life Index.

Madrid rounds out the top five, with Stockholm in sixth place. The highest-ranking for Australasia is Sydney in seventh. For North America, Montreal is highest in ninth place, for Asia it is Singapore in tenth and in the Middle East Dubai takes the fifteenth spot.

Looking at specific measures, Oslo leads for green space. According to the World Cities Culture Forum, 68% of public space in the city comprises parks and gardens, followed by Singapore’s 47%. For those seeking sunshine, Dubai comes out top with an average of 3,509 hours a year, followed by Los Angeles with 3,254 hours.

For work-life balance, we looked at hours worked per day of vacation. Moscow has the lowest ratio, with 51.6 hours worked for each day of vacation, followed by Paris with 55.4.

As mentioned previously, a number of countries and cities are looking at wellbeing more closely. A pioneer in this space is Bhutan, which has been measuring happiness at a national level since 1972, when the then king Jigme Singye Wangchuck stated, “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.”

In 2019 the concept entered the mainstream when two countries, New Zealand and Iceland, announced plans to measure and improve the wellbeing of their populations. New Zealand’s government committed NZ$3.8 billion in operational funding and NZ$10.4 billion in capital funding to its first “wellbeing budget”, while Icelandic prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir urged governments to focus on green and family-friendly priorities rather than economic growth.

As with many policies, from the environment to happiness, it may be that urban centres are best placed to lead the way. Cities enable collaboration and encourage the exchange of ideas – often the starting point for innovation and change. The concentration of people in one space also makes it easier to measure indicators of wellbeing.

Smart city initiatives are becoming more commonplace. The International Data Corporation has forecast that in 2019 US$96 billion will be spent on things such as advanced public transit, smart outdoor lighting and intelligent traffic management – an 18% increase compared with 2018.

A 2018 insight paper published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Cities, health and wellbeing, looks at how planning and development can contribute to health and wellbeing in cities.

Professor Jason Pomeroy, founding principal of Singapore-based sustainable design firm Pomeroy Studio, told The Wealth Report: “The conventional steel, glass and concrete structures that adorn many a vertical global city are being augmented by more hybrid solutions that integrate sky courts and sky gardens as alternative open and social spaces. They can enhance the health and wellbeing of citizens through exposure to greenery, natural light and ventilation.

“There is a wealth of literature that shows a correlation between urban greenery and health and wellbeing, as it can reduce the ambient temperature, absorb water and provide many other physiological and psychological benefits, all leading to greater opportunities to live longer and more meaningful lives. This idea is now informing legislation and planning, for example Singapore’s Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (LUSH) programme – thus demonstrating how the concept of wellbeing for man and nature can be a driver of real estate value.”

For an insight into the future in New Zealand, the country of the “wellbeing budget”, we spoke to Charles Ma of MADE Group, who agrees with Professor Pomeroy’s views on the integration and importance of urban design. Currently, MADE is working on an ambitious project to reimagine the way we live with its development of an entire small city – Auranga, south of Auckland – which will eventually be home to 40,000 people.

Above: Aurgana, New Zealand 

“The picture of social and personal breakdown that is emerging the world over tells me that cities aren’t a positive or enriching force in our lives,” says Mr Ma. “The driving force behind the vision for Auranga is wellness and to create an environment that draws people out in a real way by renewing the space around us, the space in between us, the space beyond us.

“Who we become as people is defined by where and how we live. The desire is to reimagine a new way of living, not just through technology and gadgets and fitness but by putting wellbeing at the core, and building around it.” The way in which Auranga, six years in the making, has been designed and developed focuses on ensuring generous provision for public spaces, says Mr Ma. “These give us the space to slow down. Our goal is to create places where humans find rest, not restlessness.”

The city is designed to give residents a chance to engage with one another and with the community in which they live. With this in mind, MADE has created a digital app that will provide open, up- to- date information on transport, jobs, social events, sports and the arts, as well as enabling residents to vote and express their views on issues that affect where they live. It’s a way of harnessing the power of technology for increased citizen engagement and wellbeing.

It’s interesting too to note that it isn’t only new cities leading the way. In 2016 the Dubai government created the post of Minister of State for Happiness – now Minister of State for Happiness and Wellbeing – and appointed Her Excellency Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi.

The minister’s chief responsibility is to “harmonise all government plans, programmes and policies to achieve a happier society”. According to the UN World Happiness Index 2019, the UAE came first in the Arab world for the fourth year running and ranked 21st among 156 countries globally – up from 28th in 2016.

The city has also put wellness at the heart of its master-planned developments with the founding of Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) in 2002. Phase one occupies 9 million sq ft and is home to leading healthcare and medical education brands alongside a portfolio of more than 100 global multinationals which have chosen to set up regional headquarters in the Free Zone. The second phase of the development, set across 19 million sq ft, will overlook Dubai Creek and the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary. DHCC phase two is set to become an urban wellness hub, featuring real estate assets including residential, healthcare, education, retail and hospitality and leisure components.

Above: DHCC, Dubai 

Other initiatives include the way Barcelona has reworked its city design with “superblocks” that allow for some pedestrianisation of streets. In Amsterdam, which ranks seventh in our index, new “blue-green” roofs are being installed, which can absorb more water than normal green roofs, protecting homes from flooding, heat and drought.

Above: A superblock in Amsterdam

But despite the emergence of happiness and wellbeing as important policy drivers, don’t write off GDP just yet. It does benchmark our ability to obtain, without directly measuring, many of those things that make life worthwhile. And while GDP does not yet measure the health of nations, those with larger GDPs can afford better healthcare.

Money isn’t everything, of course – but it still matters. Nevertheless, expect wellness to remain high on the urban agenda for the foreseeable future, with new initiatives emerging all the time.